A2 Steel Update

DangerZone98 said:
Pete from Cedric and Ada is one tester I trust. With 17 DPS, the 4034 Crawford knife scored 125 rope cuts until it was no longer reliably slicing paper. In comparison, the 8Cr Tenacious managed 175 cuts.

Not that big of a bummer for me. Decreased edge retention should already be expected. I just hope these new knives are treated to be warping and impact resistant.

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The 4034 must cheaper and that is why the 8cr is not used? I was kinda surprised how well the 8cr performed, close to my AUS8 ones.
 
Chris_Texas said:
Thanks for the response.

I know it's probably tough, but it would be awesome if you and Mr Thompson could chime in more often just to talk about things like this. The process, the things you guys look for, your thoughts about designs. I know that you guys are both martial artists, and I am very curious about what types of blade designs you guys prefer, and why.

That's what I want to see in your videos as well. Discuss the knife, tell us what you were going for. I assume any triad lock folder will withstand an insane amount of abuse, I do not personally need to see it. Upload it if you like, it damn sure can't hurt, but also upload a video of you guys talking about the product. For example, post a video describing and demonstrating why the Vaquero blade design is so good.

Finally, and this is a fairly big deal so I hope you read this far. Most cities and states restrict knives based on LENGTH (among other factors). Generally that length is listed as a maximum. A law might say less than four inches for example. In my opinion, to increase potential sales, in the future you guys should try to always make (and list) knife blades that fall just under the most common division points. Make the blade 3.4" inches long rather that 3.5". Make it 3.9" instead of 4" and so on. I travel for work and these size limits have actually prevented me fron purchasing some knives, so I can guarantee that there are some people who live in those states who cannot carry certain models for just that reason.
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Thank you for the info , I will relay your thoughts to Lynn . I think that's a good idea on the blade length issue
 
unwisefool said:
I'm going to tell you right now that .1 of an inch is not going to stop you from getting in trouble. Trust me when I say you can always find that extra .1" if you want to when measuring. If you are that worried about length restrictions, get something that is a half inch less and there will be no doubt about it's size.
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LOL probably true, maybe if a case would go to court , but your probably right an arresting officer may not appreciate the effort.
 
The Mastiff said:
"The impact test is kind of like a charpy but for an actual knife. It would make since more if you saw all the knives broken over the testing......"

Thank you for responding and the explanation. The impact testing will let you know if you have stress risers or inclusions. I should know better by now that ALL QC testing has value. My apologies.

Joe
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Yes, but more than that . For example concerning the A-2 , again tested in the form of the SRK as I have the most data on it, we bought USA made A-2 and had the very best heat treatment from Peters heat treat. Those where tested for both impact and flex test. We tested 6 pieces and established an average. We then had our sub in Taiwan water jet identical knives and heat treat accordingly. We received the knives and tested. The results where not hale as good! Then we tried various heat treat methods , all failed to measure up to the standard. Then we got the labs involved ......Long story short the quality of the steel was not as good as the USA made material. So without the testing the Taiwan made 60 rc A-2 knife would seemed awesome, until a few broke in the field.
 
How has the testing of the 3v Trailmaster and Recon scout gone? Has it looked good?
 
unwisefool said:
I'm going to tell you right now that .1 of an inch is not going to stop you from getting in trouble. Trust me when I say you can always find that extra .1" if you want to when measuring. If you are that worried about length restrictions, get something that is a half inch less and there will be no doubt about it's size.
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I appreciate your thoughts, but nothing you said invalidates or even diminishes my point. I will only carry a knife that is below the legal length. I doubt I am alone in this. I have personally passed on some Cold Steel products because they were fractions on a inch too long. Again, I am probably not alone in ghis. Further, you can see where some other companies take this into consideration. Spyderco comes to mind.

To address your comment specifically, yes an officer can always screw with you. If I do end up in court I would prefer being able to justify myself by pointing to the manufacturers specifications to show that I had good reason to believe the knife was legal. Again, I doubt I am alone in this conclusion.
 
Chris_Texas said:
I appreciate your thoughts, but nothing you said invalidates or even diminishes my point. I will only carry a knife that is below the legal length. I doubt I am alone in this. I have personally passed on some Cold Steel products because they were fractions on a inch too long. Again, I am probably not alone in ghis. Further, you can see where some other companies take this into consideration. Spyderco comes to mind.

To address your comment specifically, yes an officer can always screw with you. If I do end up in court I would prefer being able to justify myself by pointing to the manufacturers specifications to show that I had good reason to believe the knife was legal. Again, I doubt I am alone in this conclusion.
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Ok, you do you! Enjoy whatever knife you buy.
 
Chris_Texas said:
I appreciate your thoughts, but nothing you said invalidates or even diminishes my point. I will only carry a knife that is below the legal length. I doubt I am alone in this. I have personally passed on some Cold Steel products because they were fractions on a inch too long. Again, I am probably not alone in ghis. Further, you can see where some other companies take this into consideration. Spyderco comes to mind.

To address your comment specifically, yes an officer can always screw with you. If I do end up in court I would prefer being able to justify myself by pointing to the manufacturers specifications to show that I had good reason to believe the knife was legal. Again, I doubt I am alone in this conclusion.
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Some cities/counties out here have maximum carry lengths, usually 3"or 4" maximum. When I have to go there I make sure the knife is listed as 3" or 4" in the company specs, end of story. If asked by the cop I would show him the specs on my phone, the cops out here pay more attention to the factory specs than trying to measure it. If it goes to court the factory specs should exonerate you. Not sure what a 1/10" would in these circumstances. Yours might be different so you should act accordingly. I try to stay out of those areas, my area you can wear a sword if you like and any length folder is a go, can't always do that so I do have a few shortie knives. Good luck with your selection.
 
nephron said:
Some cities/counties out here have maximum carry lengths, usually 3"or 4" maximum. When I have to go there I make sure the knife is listed as 3" or 4" in the company specs, end of story. If asked by the cop I would show him the specs on my phone, the cops out here pay more attention to the factory specs than trying to measure it. If it goes to court the factory specs should exonerate you. Not sure what a 1/10" would in these circumstances. Yours might be different so you should act accordingly. I try to stay out of those areas, my area you can wear a sword if you like and any length folder is a go, can't always do that so I do have a few shortie knives. Good luck with your selection.
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Exactly my point. If the legal maximum length is 4" I would prefer to show that it is officially LESS than that length. 3.9 for example.

Enough sidetracking from me.
 
Chris_Texas said:
Exactly my point. If the legal maximum length is 4" I would prefer to show that it is officially LESS than that length. 3.9 for example.

Enough sidetracking from me.
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:) Yeah , badly off topic ...but in ~70 years of living mostly in the rural midwest USA , I've been subjected to cops measuring my blade length exactly NEVER ! :rolleyes:

I'd seriously think about moving to a less totalitarian jurisdiction if I commonly had this problem . :confused:
 
Ive heard a lot of people think the trailmaster and recon scouts are weak at the tangs. The only failures ive seen with one of each was in SK5 and they were being batoned through huge pieces of wood,almost too big and extreme to really be using a knife for.do you think these 3v models will be much stronger,even if the tang is the same?
 
goldie said:
Ive heard a lot of people think the trailmaster and recon scouts are weak at the tangs. The only failures ive seen with one of each was in SK5 and they were being batoned through huge pieces of wood,almost too big and extreme to really be using a knife for.do you think these 3v models will be much stronger,even if the tang is the same?
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I've seen videos of O1 failing too. And several pics of broken O1, Carbon V and SK-5.

They mostly say corners aren't rounded enough and it makes sense as they all fail at the same place - next to the brass hand guard... IMO 3V should be a lot better than either of those...

EDIT: Brass* not brads :D
 
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Ive done some retarded abusive things with my carbon v trailmaster and its held up like a champ. I do baton occasionally but not through logs big enough to split with one whack from an axe. I will absolutely be getting a 3v trailmaster when they come out, I dont care if its 300 bucks. And seeing as they will be releasing a 3v version along with a stainless version, the idea of the 4034 is IMO not a bad idea. I may give the recon scout in 4034 a chance to see how it stacks up against my beloved trailmaster. If I like the reduced size/weight better who knows, I may give the 3v version a shot after that.
 
I never batonned w my carbon v trailmaster,but i did cut through about 15 feet of tough rhodedendrums and it wasnt a struggle either. Funny how people on ebay are going nuts for and spending big money on carbon v when all they have to do is buy a kabar in 1095 cro van which is the same steel.Wait till those jamokees find out about 3v.
 
goldie said:
I never batonned w my carbon v trailmaster,but i did cut through about 15 feet of tough rhodedendrums and it wasnt a struggle either. Funny how people on ebay are going nuts for and spending big money on carbon v when all they have to do is buy a kabar in 1095 cro van which is the same steel.Wait till those jamokees find out about 3v.
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1095 Cro Van is better than 1095 and SK-5, but it's no match for 3V.
 
goldie said:
Ive heard a lot of people think the trailmaster and recon scouts are weak at the tangs. The only failures ive seen with one of each was in SK5 and they were being batoned through huge pieces of wood,almost too big and extreme to really be using a knife for.do you think these 3v models will be much stronger,even if the tang is the same?
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I don't doubt it-- not because it is true, but because people seem to look for things to complain about. The Trailmaster is something like 5/16ths thick. How in the hell could you possibly seriously damage it ( other than maybe edge chipping on the San mai models)? What in the hell would you possibly doing except deliberately trying to ruin the thing? I used an old Ontario Kabar as a digging tool for years, hammering it through roots and rocks and prying with it like an idiot. It's bent to hell and rust pitted but it never broke. The Trailmaster would, in my opinion, be essentially indestructible even if used irresponsibly.

In an emergency, which really means that you are actually being careful rather than foolish, I would trust any tool steel trailmaster with my life. No hesitation.
 
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